Puppeteer 2: Oneshot Reveal Series
by Victoria123Fangirling
Summary: Marinette takes a moment to practice what she might say to Adrien when she returns from the bathroom... but maybe says too much.


**Puppeteer 2: Oneshot Reveal Series. **

_**Marinette takes a moment to practice what she might say to Adrien when she returns from the bathroom but maybe says too much. **_

…

**Hi, everyone who bothers to read authors' notes! **

**I'm challenging myself to write a reveal for every episode. They will not be in order so I'm publishing them individually. With new episodes, I get new ideas, and I'm not sure I'll finish every single episode by trying to do them in order, so I'm doing them in whatever order I want/as inspired and I hope I get to all of them. **

**I've got a few in the works, but I'll gladly take requests for what comes next. **

**I hope you enjoy and thank you for the constant favorites and follows I receive! You're all so awesome! Thank you so so much! Please enjoy!**

…

**I think it's pretty obvious which scene needed to change. **

…

"I'm super cool. I'm super cool. I'm super cool," Marinette chanted to herself, hoping she'd believe it by the time she got back to Adrien.

She had given him a letter once. Well she'd thought she'd given him a letter once, and it was easy. She'd had courage then. Now all she had to do was say it. What had the letter even said again?

Before Marinette could remember, she jumped as she nearly ran into the boy in question. She flailed for a moment only to realize it was a statue. She relaxed with a large sigh.

Tikki's words from earlier went through her mind. Play a role. She could do that. She understood that Tikki meant for her to be more like Ladybug. Seeing a statue of her crush made her think though… maybe this was a moment to practice before she saw the real thing.

Marinette pulled her shoulders back before letting out a breath.

"Adrien, I'm sorry for making you feel like I didn't want to be alone with you. The truth is… I always want to be alone with you." She screwed up her face. "No scratch that. The truth is…" She tried to remember her letter, the one he was _supposed _to receive. "When you love someone… you should tell them. Before it's too late. I know you might not feel the same. And I'm afraid of how the real you will react, but I have to tell you. Even if you love someone else. I just… I want us to be friends no matter how you feel…" she sighed. "I… Tikki, I can't. I can't _be_ Ladybug when I'm with Adrien."

She looked down at her bag only to find Tikki silently staring up at her. "You can do it Marinette!" the kwami whispered which her chosen thought odd but ignored as she thought she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked back to the statue for a second.

Marinette gave a groan before stealing herself and tapped the statue of Adrien on the nose. "See you soon, hot stuff."

Walking off, she didn't see the Adrien statue suddenly deflate, relaxing his tensed muscles. "Marinette… me… Ladybug?"

Plagg was chuckling from his pocket.

* * *

Marinette walked into the studio only to find it empty.

"Adrien?" she called out tentatively. The hair on the back of her neck started to stand up as she moved further into the room. As if someone was watching her. Was Adrien hiding? Had she hurt him that badly? "Adrien!"

Instead of her friend's response, she heard a thud. She looked around wildly. The Thomas head had fallen off the table.

"Oh no," she said, worried about the wax being misshapen. How had it even fallen off anyway? She was on the other side of the room.

The tingling sensation intensified as she walked over and bent to pick it up. Marinette examined the side the head had fallen on but saw nothing out of place. As she came face to face with it again, that eerie feeling hung over her. She was quick to put it back in its place so the eyes would stop staring at her, but before it could leave her hands it blinked.

Marinette screamed immediately and dropped the head. With its own movement, it rolled away toward the door, Marinette watching with her mouth open. Then she noticed the hands on the table bouncing to follow. She let out another short scream, her hands flailing towards her mouth. What horror movie had she just entered? Where was Adrien? What happened while she was in the bathroom?

"LADYBUG!"

Her head shot up at that. The disembodied head and hands had made it out the door, but Marinette could have sworn that was Cat Noir's voice.

She ran to the doorway to hear a commotion from down the hall, back in the exhibit she'd just come from. Holding out her purse, she looked to her kwami. "I think we've got another akuma. Tikki, spots on!"

In a second she was transformed, and she ran in the direction of Cat's voice.

Entering the room, Ladybug saw Hawkmoth fighting… _Adrien? Where was Cat Noir?_

She didn't have much time to think about it however as Adrien fell to the ground and Hawkmoth held his cane high about to strike. In one easy movement, Ladybug ran across the room and swept Adrien off the ground and out of Hawkmoth's reach.

"Find a place to hide. I'll take care of him," Ladybug stated.

"Oh no! You're going to stay and play with me!" Manon's voice echoed over the intercom.

"Manon?!" Adrien and Ladybug shouted in unison, not noticing their familiar position with their backs together and Ladybug swinging her yo-yo.

"No! I'm Puppeteer! And I want to play with you and my statues!"

Ladybug's eyebrows furrowed with determination. "Go," she told Adrien before launching after her supposed arch enemy. She had her suspicions after seeing the animated, wax Thomas Astruc head.

Adrien ran and it wasn't long before Cat Noir showed up.

* * *

In minutes, wax Hawkmoth and Puppeteer were defeated, leaving an awkward tension between Adrien and Marinette.

Running away when left alone before, Marinette hoped Adrien didn't think she wanted to be left alone, or worse, not his friend anymore. She hoped she hadn't ruined everything.

The truth was, however, that Adrien was feeling awkward for a whole other reason. He'd been trying to play a joke and now he knew Marinette's feelings and Ladybug's secret identity. One of those things would have been enough, let alone both. He knew he had to address them, and as the tension returned between them in the car after leaving the museum and dropping off their friends, he knew he couldn't wait. Marinette had no idea he had tried to play a joke. She had no idea he knew her secret identity, or that it was okay because he was actually Cat Noir and would keep her secret to keep them both safe.

"So. Marinette…?" Adrien shifted uncomfortably. "I-I need to tell you something. What you said to the statue of me… before the akuma…"

Marinette tried to remember what she had said, before realizing what it meant. He had heard her. It wasn't a statue. Adrien wore a guilty smile. "You…?!" she gasped.

"I'm really sorry! I meant it to be a joke. I wanted to make you laugh, but then you started pouring out your feelings and talking to your kwami and I just didn't know how my timing could be worse."

"Oh no!" Marinette sunk her face into her hands. She'd said too much. Adrien knew her feelings!

"It's okay, Marinette. I won't tell anyone."

Marinette raised an eyebrow. Her heart starting to sink. If Adrien didn't want to tell anyone how she felt, then he obviously didn't feel the same way and wanted nothing to do with her.

"I won't tell anyone you're Ladybug," he continued quietly so his driver didn't hear. He faced her, leaning forward slightly.

Marinette's jaw dropped. Ladybug. She had said something about Ladybug? Of course, she did! He had literally said he'd heard her talking to her kwami, and she had. She told Tikki she couldn't be Ladybug in front of him! He knew about her kwami!

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" She continued to panic, sliding further down the seat and covering her face. She suddenly snapped up to him. "You. Can't. Tell. Anyone. Not even Nino."

Adrien gave her a weak smile. "I wouldn't dream of it, my lady. I'm not gonna say anything. But um… can I tell Plagg?"

His small smile turned wider as she looked at him confused. It wasn't long before her eyes looked as if they were going to pop out of her skull. She sat up, facing him now. Her brain was trying to process _my lady_ but got stuck on his last word. "Plagg…?" she repeated, dumbly. "Plagg!" She nearly shouted when her mind started to catch up with her. She glanced at the driver before staring at Adrien again.

The cat kwami poked his head out of his owner's jacket. "_Yeah, _can_ I _know you're Ladybug?" He snickered.

Marinette glared at the smart-alecky cat, then turned her gaze to Adrien, looking much softer. "So you're…"

"Yup."

"Cat Noir?"

"Yeah." Adrien rubbed his neck. "Is that okay? This isn't exactly the reveal I hoped for. I know we weren't supposed to know…"

"That's on me," Marinette said quickly. "I didn't know it was you. And I should have. I should have been more careful."

"That was still my fault, though," Adrien said, discouraged. "I decided to play a stupid prank because I wanted you to like me. I should have known better; you always tell me I have bad timing."

Marinette giggled. "You don't need to pull a prank for that to happen. How about no more jokes between Adrien and Marinette?"

Adrien leaned forward in response to Marinette's teasing eyes. "What about as Cat Noir and Ladybug?"

"I think we can make an exception there," she smirked.

The two heroes smiled at one another.

Adrien leaned back and took a breath. "So, um, about the other thing then…"

"The other…?"

"I don't need to joke around to get you to like me…? When you were talking to the statue… you said that you loved me. Do you really feel that way, Marinette?"

Marinette stared at him with wide eyes. _Yes, just say yes. Get it over with_, she told herself because every other instinct was telling her to deny it. Then she remembered this was Cat Noir. Cat Noir was asking if Marinette liked Adrien, if Ladybug liked Cat Noir. That she could answer easily. She swallowed.

"Yeah," she breathed out, her head tilted down, her eyes looking up at him. "I do."

Adrien smiled wider, which she didn't expect. She also didn't expect that grin to remind her so much of her kitty.

"Marinette? I know this is all new and I'd understand if you said no, but would you want to go out sometime?"

She tried very, very hard not to squeal. "Yes! I-" She tried to tone down her excitement. "I'd love to, Adrien..." Her eyes went soft and she tilted her head. "…Kitty."

Adrien smiled, a blush forming on his cheeks.

The car stopped and Marinette went to get out. She stopped when Adrien suddenly jumped out and ran around to open the door for her.

"Th-Thanks Adrien," she said politely as she stood.

"Anything for you," he grabbed her hand and knelt over it. "My lady." A short kiss to her hand and a wink left Marinette breathless. How many times had he done this before and _now_ he had her practically swooning?

He grinned, seeing the blush on her face, realizing now he was the one that put it there.

"See you at school tomorrow?" he asked, getting back into the car.

"Yeah," she sighed, then coughed. Cat noir was going to make fun of her for this forever. "See you tomorr-tomorrow! Oh, great!" she groaned, hearing her stutter.

Adrien chuckled, sent her a wink, and closed the car door.

She waved absentmindedly before finally turning around and heading into the bakery. Her and Tikki had things to discuss.

* * *

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**Thank you for reading! **


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